Wednesday, March 31, 2010

So if you aren't hip to foursquare yet here is your chance. Foursquare is essentially like twitter meets yelp in the form of a game.

"The Basics"

You "checkin" wherever you go using an app on your phone or, if you are on a broke ass phone plan like I am, a SMS text. This lets everyone who is your friend on foursquare (or Twitter or Facebook) that you are at such and such place. I'm sure it you are a twitter user you have noticed an influx of foursquare checkins.

"The Points" or "The Real Reason I'm Into This Shit"

So each checkin you get a certain number of points which at this point in time don't translate to anything but are soon to be redeemable for something (new service, they are still growing, give em a break). In addition there are these things called "badges" that are kind of like XBOX achievement points that you get for going certain places and doing certain things such as getting a douchebag badge for going to douchey places. Lastly what makes foursquare pretty awesome is the Mayor feature. Whoever checks in the most at a certain place becomes the Mayor, and it actually has its perks. A bunch of places around town offer specials for their Mayor like free coffee, cheap drinks and free french fries.

WARNING: Foursquare is super addictive and if you don't want another social media vice don't fuck with it.

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

From what seems to be already one of the most slept on albums of 2010, the Strong Arm Steady gang dropped In Search of Stoney Jackson entirely produced by Madlib two months ago. This jam featuring the LB representer Phonte pulling double duty singing the hook and spitting a verse. I don't really dig that he doesn't rap most of his verse on camera but it's still a great song.

Watch out for a cameo towards the end from a certain beat junkie that word on the street is has a copy of that "Magnetic Blackness" wax.

I'm steadily learning more about various electronic sounds and styles but one thing I've always known is that if it's funky Detroit has probably made it at some point. Allow me to introduce 18 year old Kyle Hall. Just vibe out to this remix first.

Smooth, sexy, funky and fresh with enough synths to keep everyone smiling. This kid is 18 and already has a who's who of the European electro labels adding him to their release schedules. Hyperdub is at the forefront of the underground electronic music world, starting as a label focusing on the burgeoning dubstep scene at the time and today going across the world putting on sounds that represent the future as Kode9 hears it.

Grabbing Kyle Hall for the above remix (found on the B-Side of the Darkstar 12 for "Aidy's Girl is a Computer") Hyperdub has known that Hall was someone worth investing in. With the release of his 12 for them this past week he has caught the ear of bloggers and music fans for making some awesome dance music that doesn't seem to know borders.

In a review on Little White Earbuds the writer made a point that while Hall has been mentored by some of Detroit's best he has also had the luxury of the internet providing him with a limitless musical library and education. As the younger generations grow up and become musicians of their own expect to see less specific genre tied tunes and a more open approach to combining sounds, playing around, experimenting. Kyle Hall does it to great effect and shows that while Detroit may be the grimey 313 we all know and love it's also a forward thinking scene musically across the board.

Friday, March 26, 2010

Whatever your vision is of what Hip Hop is "suppose" to sound like, I doubt the Victor Shade LP would not qualify. Pairing two north end representers together for an enitre project, one on beats and one on rhymes, proves to be a glorious affair in mic skills and booming drums. Get the kneck braces out!

At first thought Ra Scion and MTK don't seem to make much sense. One is a well known concscious Seattle emcee, the other a contract beat maker probably most well known for his placements with Jedi Mind Tricks and their extended crew. The combination proves to be perfect as Mack The Knife delivers some stellar beats to which Ra Scion proves to be the perfect emcee for, utilizing his ever varied flow to ride these beats home.

I saw one commenter state on 206Proof that Scion has always been too complicated for him and it is true his verbiage is far more complex than many emcees, some would argue that makes him better than most. It's definetly not a con.

The way you sound on the mic and over a beat are important as well and I think it's probably the flow that has kept Ra Scion ripping mics over the years. So smooth and precise. You will never not know what he said as long as you pay attention, words are not mumbled or slurred. They are announced to the world.

They open the project with the thumping "Pym Strut" featuring a great vocal sample stating "Tell Me" and with the hard guitar chords chopping along, I can't wait to hear this in the Admirals Club. On "Bodega Politics" we first hear Ra and he makes his purpose known, billing himself as a fighter of crime with the gift of rhymes.

The samples MTK employs throughout this record are stellar and bring a smile to my face regularly hearing beautiful sounds drop in, adding just that extra flourish to a beat. Gone is much of what you've come to expect from Ra Scion, but not so much in the sense of content but in the way he chooses his words.

The Victor Shade project will make some waves for the sheer fact that it isn't what else you are hearing right now. Seattle is inundated with some great Hip Hop at the moment and these two just stirred the pot heavily with a record full of boom bap production and storytelling lyrics that provide context for a greater conceptual theme for the whole project.

Come out Saturday night to celebrate the release of the project and party with us! You all know what Fatal does, if you do not - COME! For those just hearing the name Luck One get ready to be hearing it even more, he is a young cat from Portland who recently relocated up this way and is preparing to unleash is full length on the public later this year. I also hear there are some out of towners in for a regular show who know how Members Only does and might just have to get down. Be there.

Since last summer’s “Shapeshifters” mixtape, State of the Artist (SOTA) has been steadily bulding their reputation as a young trio of emcees worth paying attention to. Having released several mixtapes over their 3 year existence as a group and forming an alliance with LA production powerhouse The Ski Team it was time to let the people have a glimpse at what an all original produced SOTA project might sound like.

The Ski Team is a group of producers from Los Angeles who have worked with artists all over the country. Most recently, they’ve placed a song on the TV Show Gossip Girl (Hollywood Holt – “Brains”) and have had a new video created to their song with Dom Kennedy and Dude Royal (“Don’t Go: The Remix”). Other artists they have worked with include Freddie Gibbs, Chip Tha Ripper and U-N-I.

While this is a remix project, SOTA being the creative individuals that they are took the time to lay down a brand new original track to close out this freely distributed tape. A moody, Pete Rock esque jam “New World Crime” features a Gil Scott-Heron sample that spoke to the boys and may be their best track yet. State of the Artist and Ski Team will continue to work together and this track should prove they need to. Be on the lookout for Ski Team contributions to State of the Artist’s upcoming full length debut SeattleCaliFragalisticExtraHellaDopeness.

Since we haven't thrown this up yet, and it does NEED to be thrown up. I'll be number 300 to hit you with it. On Monday March 22nd Seattle legend Vitamin D celebrated his birthday. If you don't know Vita then find another blog to read, this shit aint for you.

I'm not sure quite how, but this year Vita's birthday seemed to hold endless presents for the town as a whole. He held his party at Members Only's very own Jet Set (Monday nights at the Capitol Club) with a special performance from Dap Confuser bred and Metal Chocolates bound O.C. Notes and Rik Rude. To everyone's surprise (including ours) he treated us all to a special freestyle session with Otis on the boards before taking control of the wheels himself. Then pulling a move only one with true clout could pull, he coaxed 206 mayor J. Moore to grace the mic. Maybe the first time Ive seen this happen in an impromptu situation like this.

All that withstanding, the best gift Vita gave us this year for his birthday was the Bornday EP I'm not gonna go into trying to describe how filthy this shit is. I'm not nearly a good enough writer, and I think my dude Larry already did it justice over at Raindrop Hustla. Anyways you guys are big kids, make your own opinions. Just dont miss out on this album.

Sitting here relaxing I let my mind flow listening to Dibiase rock out for this "Return of The Sludge" mix he dropped for BTS Radio. I'm vaguely familiar with the show, it's always been a presence in the LA beat scene and Mr. Meza regularly seems to drop features with a number of the cats at the forefront while keeping his ears to the street.

From what I can gather Dibiase is a long time beat maker and student of the art. His passion appears to be a pure driving factor to pushing his music. And listening to this mix it's clear that he should have been getting the support to release his music long ago. It's happening today and for that we have to rejoice!

And we also have "Return to the Sludge." Free. A mix of mostly what appears to be random cuts from CDR's in Dibiase's archieve. Knowing how some artists put in work I wouldn't be surised if we could get "Back to The Sludge" Vol. 10 at some point and stil not be scratching the surface of dudes hard drive.

The beats here border on the dubby electro bent that much of the Brainfeeder collective (of which he isn't an offical part) demonstrates, yet definetly stays in a decidedly Hip Hop lane. There is no doubt left when hearing the drums here that Dibiase grew up on anyone but Pete Rock, Marly Marl, DJ Premeir, et. al.

Sometimes he lets the fuzz get heavy and wrap around your mind kinda like the haze hanging in the room. He grabs vocal samples, chops shit to pieces. Fully embraces the glitch and puts on a few fellow travlers in beats.

Some tracks feature emcees. Selfish appears on "Chameleon" and it's awesome like some vintage LA, post gangsta, kicking it in the sun vibe. This is a relaxing type beat. That's what Dibiase does, he makes some shit for you to vibe with. Any head is gonna knod their head in appriciation when this comes on. The dusty grimey goodness will only provide them with the perfect backdrop to imagine their favorite emcee rocking on.

Put this on while in between dimensions of sleep and let it sink into your cerebellum. This shit is heavy. Even when it's not. Houseshoes let's Curtis sing in chops on one of the best songs of 2010 and Dibiase closes the mix with said jam - "The Makings" - these are the makings of a future with powerful Hip Hop once again. Producers are leading the new generation of talent and borders are no more. Let the sounds speak to you.

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

This Saturday, March 27th, we are making it a double dose of release party action. The Admiral's Club will once again be the setting for another 90's style basement party on the hill. You already know we don't sluff when it comes to having a party, so prepare yourself.

If you are not a member of TEH ECHELONZ and don't know what the hell I'm talking about or where the party is...then try harder.

Monday, March 22, 2010

This Friday night at Sole Repair we bring you the State of the Artist RemixTape release party! SOTA is releasing their "Shapeshifters" mixtape with all new production from LA's own SkiTeam and we're throwing a party to celebrate. Get it there.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

We've been watching "The Carter" the documentary about Lil' Wayne at the Members Only Clubhouse quite a bit as of late. It has caused me to go back and watch and listen to a lot of old Cash Money videos and albums and this song really sticks out as being a turning point in Wayne's rhyme style as he is pretty fucking on point during his verse.

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

My new favorite song happens to be the opening to my new favorite show. "I Need A Dollar" by Aloe Blacc is the theme song to the new HBO series How To Make It In America aka the realistic Entourage. Dude is signed to Stones Throw (suprise) and will be releasing his new album Good Things sometime this year. The track is produced by Truth & Soul, and featuring the backing band known as Expressions and El Michels Affair.

The 12-inch vinyl for “Dollar” - which I will be copping that instantly - will be in stores April 2010. It has the single and instro, along with a B side called "Take Me Back" that is way too soulful to be contemporary.

Our good friend, and excellent photographer, Tyler "Rabid Child" Soverns has uploaded pics from the Return of PHIZZ at the Can Can and Magnetic Blackness release party at the Wild Buffalo in Bellingham. These were two very epic shows and also marked the first time the Can Can had a hip hop show and the first time Champagne Champagne or THEESatisfaction had ever been to Bellingham. Not to mention our coming out party as a record label! Turn outs were great, people got drizzed and all the artists involved had a damn good time. Take a look see...

THE RETURN OF PHIZZ

BELLINGHAM

...faces were turned to puddles. And Members Only proved once again that no one throws a party like we do.

Have you seen Jackfruit (aka B-relaxed) vitaminwater ANYWHERE in the greater Seattle-metro area in the last few months? It is gone. Vanished.

This is by far the tastiest flavored beverage known to man, and the convenience store across from my house used to have a fridge stocked full of them. Now, I can not find the sweet nectar of jackfruit there or at any QFC or Safeway and can barely find it at other convenience stores. This is not okay.

If you or someone you know has any information on the whereabouts of my beloved Jackfruit, I will pay handsomely. I am really parched...

Monday, March 15, 2010

Now THIS is the way to pay tribute to those talents that we have lost. A well thought out, well executed idea that is a functional collectors item. Eff throwing together more post-humous releases (although Dilla has had the best of any dead artist IMO) these types of projects are where things should be headed.

Serato and Stones Throw are joining forces with Dilla's estate to release the Donut Shop. The package will consist of two vinyls with six Dilla tracks - 3 on each vinyl and the serato control tone on the flipside - and 2 donut slipmats (DOPE). Set to release May, 10th. Pre-order is available now.

Thursday, March 11, 2010

The one and only party rocker extraordinaire Ohmega Watts will be joining me for this weeks edition of the Tighten Up! We only play the best in Funk, Soul, Disco, Hip Hop and party cuts...very rare in Belltown :) So come get some and join us for a great night of music! It's FREEEEEEEEE.

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

We are just a couple days away yall, this show is going to be CRACK. I have been looking forward to this album dropping for a minute now and it is almost upon us, I'm trembling in anticipation.

The first time I saw Jerm perform at Nectar it was truly a memorable Friday Night in June 2007. I was maybe 5 shows deep into promoting and the bill was Grieves and Type on top, Project Mayhem (consisting of Alpha P, Mind Movers, Elephaders, Audio Poet and 3rd Child all doing short sets) and Rudy and the Rhetoric as openers.

I did my awesome stand up comedy, honestly probably my best set ever, containing a joke about how Justin Timberlake made any pussy feel like he could beat box. I had never seen AP and 3C before and had no idea they were into beat boxing, so of course there were some salty feelings. I believe the quote was "Hey, Big Man, we're those assholes you were joking about, dick!".

The night went off well we had about 300 folks, back in the day when that was good for Nectar on a Friday, everybody cleared out except for the artists and then all hell broke loose. I was getting the payout from Ken and a we heard a bunch yelling from downstairs. We hauled ass downstairs and Alison the Assistant Bar Manager pointed at Jerm and said, "He stole a bottle of Vodka!", Jerm holding the bottle said, "I didn't steal shit bitch." I didn't know Jerm at this point and thought the situation was amazing, this dude caught red handed, literally holding the bottle he was accused of stealing straight denies it, GANGSTER.

So Jerm ended up giving the bottle back and leaving, I was thinking wow, Alpha P isn't gonna be able to play at Nectar again, but luckily I was wrong. Ken being the consummate professional he is just asked for Jerm to come apologize, Jerm did, and the rest is history.

Also on the bill: Mash Hall, our boys SOTA, Candidt and Dev. Get there early and get a free cdyall.

Suprise, Suprise, Corey Haim died of a drug overdose. He was 38 and a drug addict for over 20 years so I think instead of mourning his death we celebrate the fact that he spent over 20 YEARS as a drug addict. The average life span for a junkie is 15-20 YEARS and Mr. Haim beat the odds and pulled it off. Corey I salute you.

Honestly though, I enjoy many of his early films and will have to go back and watch them. I found escapism in his nerd turned caddy rollin bad boy in License to Drive, and scared the shit out of myself watching Corey and the Frog Brothers take on Vampire Keifer in Lost Boys. I really enjoyed making fun of Dream a Little Dream, Double O Kid, Fast Getaway, et al.

Corey I will miss that fresh faced kid with the oversized tongue, and your dealer will miss the fat faced addict with the oversized ego.

Thursday, March 4, 2010

After several mixtapes demonstrating the varied styles Parker, Young TH & Hyphen8d possess as State of the Artist they are ready to deliver their proper debut album, SeattleCaliFragalisticExtraHellaDopeness. An album comprised of collaborations with a who's who of the Seattle Hip Hop scene and production from Cali trio the SKI TEAM among other talents in the Northwest.

The lead single is the quasi title track "ExtraHellaDope" featuring current town staples Helladope. Parker produced a track that travels into Tay Sean's synth and spacy realm. The song is already a crowd favorite in both groups sets and a video is set to be shot this month.

In the link below you will find a radio edit, album version, and an acappella for all your radio and streaming needs. Thank you for your support!

Towards the end of the summer of 2009 Seattle's own SOTA boys took a 6 week trip down to LA. It was this trip that inspired their forthcoming debut album SeattleCaliFragalisticExtraHellaDopeness. While there they also worked with The Ski Team and connected with film students in the LBC (5ive by 5ive Studios).

After meeting the director at a house party on a Sunday,they threw a barbeque and shot a video the following weekend in two days. "RealHot" is the resulting video, State of the Artist's first. The video features a remix of the song which was originally released mud-summer 2009. Produced by LA production trio the Ski Team (Dom Kennedy, Chip The Ripper, Hollywood Holt, Rob Roy, U-N-I), it will appear on an upcoming SOTA X SKI TEAM project titled "The Remixtape."